Touko Fujita 藤田東湖（1806−1855）
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Close aide to 9th Mito Lord Nariaki Tokugawa（徳川斉昭）. A shrewd politician nationally famous for spreading the Sonnou-Joui（尊皇攘夷）, an ideology advocating "Reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of (barbarian) foreigners."
A practical and active figure from Mito School
Son of Yukoku Fujita（藤田幽谷1774-1826）, theorist who built the foundation of the Mito School. He grew following the education from his father, and lived as a Mito School practical man of action, benefiting from the affection of 9th Mito Lord Nariaki Tokugawa (徳川斉昭).
He worked during his adolescence in the Akitaka Hall of which he became President in the course of time. Eventually, he assumed the responsible positions of district shogunate administrator (in charge of agricultural administration), Dutch and Chinese interpreter, and government affairs assistant for the local Lord (or daimyo). When Nariaki took part in the coastal defense of the shogunate, he became the person in the charge of it. Ever since Nariaki's assumption of office, Touko worked as a very helpful administrative expert, helping in the reforms for the Mito domain. For that reason, when Nariaki was disposed by the shogunate, leading to his lost of standing, Touko was disposed as well and rehabilitated along with Nariaki when the latter was reinstated.
Touko was not only an administrative expert. He left in people's mind the image of a great figure of Mito domain in the East and was one of those who propagated the Sonnou-Joui thought through the cooperation with other feudal retainers and warriors.
Writing of the Kōdōkan Commentary (弘道館記述義 or Kōdōkan-Kijutsu-Gi)
Touko published the Kōdōkan Commentary, an explanatory guide to the Kōdōkan Chronicles（弘道館記or Koukoukan-Ki）in which is exposed the philosophy of the Mito School as it opened in the Kōdōkan building. This Commentary is however more famous as a work preaching the philosophy of Mito School along with the introduction of new theories（新論）from Seishisai Aizawa（会沢正志斎）.
Touko died after he got struck by a falling object during the Great Ansei Earthquake in 1855 that hit Edo. His fourth son, Koshirou Fujita（藤田小四郎）took over his activities with the same passion and energy. In 1864, he raised an army in Mount Tsukuba（筑波山）and initiated what was called the Tengu Faction Rebellion（天狗党の乱 or Tengu-Tou No Ran）
Sonnou-Joui and Mito School
The ideology of Mito School can be expressed through the words of Sonnou-Joui. Since Mito School and Mito domain were the forerunners of this ideology, Sonnou-Joui is also referred as the epicenter of Meiji Restoration（明治維新 or Meiji-Ishin in 1868）. Before long, patriots from the Western domains (including the current Kansai area and beyond) turned this doctrine into another one called Sonnou-Toubaku（尊皇倒幕or "Reverence to the Emperor, Overthrow of the Shogunate"）. However, the Mito School thought was to be understood in the first place as something more like Sonnou-Keibaku（尊皇敬幕or "Reverence for the Emperor, Respect for the Bakufu/Shogunate"）. As one of the top three Tokugawa family branches （徳川御三家or Tokugawa-Gosanke）, the Mito domain persistently thought about maintaining the structure of a country based on a system on top of which the Emperor had been placed by the Shogunate and the fiefs. Moreover, as the country unnoticeably moved towards its opening to the world, the "Foreigners out!" slogan had lost in power indeed, but Mito School never abandoned the idea. The Sonnou-Joui thought, produce of an ahead-of its-time Mito domain, became inappropriate to the other speculating domains, and due to internal conflicts the clan lost many talents, all this influencing on the inability in the end for Mito domain to show great influence during the Meiji Restoration.
